Right. I was the entitled one.
Loud pops snapped in my ears right as the bus fishtailed out of control. The sudden motion slammed my head into the window, sending a nauseating crack through my skull and threatening to make the granola bar, I’d recently eaten, come back up.
The other students screamed in alarm, as the shriek of the bus driver hitting the breaks as hard as they could, squealed overthem. The foul stench of burned rubber filled my nose as the thick taste of metallic blood filled my mouth.
We careened to the right, tipping over. Glass shattered around us, and instead of the swamp out my window, dark gray asphalt covered the shattered hole. Tiny rocks flew around me like shards of shrapnel, pelting me in the face.
I closed my eyes, bracing for another impact.
But it never came.
Our sliding slowed until we came to a stop that almost felt intentional. The silence was deafening. My eyes snapped open as if the sudden loss of sound was an alarm of its own, screaming that something was wrong.
My face hovered inches over the swamp. My own reflection stared back at me with wide blue eyes that popped even against the brownish, green hue of the water, even when the rest of my features came across as blurred shapes.
My fingers moved with a mind of their own to touch the surface, and right before I made contact, my reflection disappeared.
Every inch of my body shook with the instinct to run.
The longer I stared at the water’s surface the harder I trembled, so I unclipped my seat belt to put some space between me and the sense that I made a horrible mistake coming here.
Shannon hovered over me, the seat belt holding her in place. She whimpered in fear, but she was fine from what I could tell.
I stood on shaky legs, stumbling to the emergency exit that was now to my left. The intense relief of escape made it easier to breathe as soon as I pushed the heavy door open.
The morning sun blared down the bus, sending shadows of the dangling people on the ground. The shadows reminded me of bodies hanging from branches, and that unease settled back in my stomach.
Leave.
“Talia! Help me!” Shannon screeched indignantly.
“Glad your mood hasn’t been injured.” I tore myself away from the door to help catch Shannon, when she released her seat belt. I stumbled under her weight and bonked my head against the side of the bus and my boot sank through the broken window.
Sharp glass ripped through the skin of my ankle like claws, as water wrapped around my foot and leg. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the swamp meant to pull me under.
Like this place would claim me, if I let it.
Chapter 2:
Somethingabouttheswampwas off.
Standing near the water’s edge, with a wrecked bus on its side only feet away, didn’t help any. Instead of a glorious piece of untouched nature, it was a backdrop to destruction.
Every once in a while, the water would shift like something was adjusting its weight below the surface.
Everyone exited the toppled vehicle, and it was a small miracle that there weren’t any injuries other than a few bumps and bruises.
From what I could tell, I’d gotten the worst of it.
Make a mental note, don’t lean on windows.
“Are you okay, Talia?” A sharp frown tugged Professor Gale’s thick lips downwards as he rushed up to me, flashing a light in my eyes.
“I’m okay.”
He studied my eyes a little longer, his fingers landing on the side of my face, as if he could feel past the skin and bone to see the ooze beneath that made up who I was. His fingers lingered abeat too long, and the intensity in his grey eyes made me want to squirm away.
His eyes always bothered me, but I could never make out why. They reminded me of something that made my heart race and my stomach fold on itself, but I could never pinpoint what that was.
